Year in Review: Local News top 10

The year 2016 saw Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario hit the national news on a number of occasions.

None of the exposure was positive, once again shedding a negative light on the region’s largest city. When we started sifting through the top stories of the year, however, one was a unanimous choice. In January the Nipigon River Bridge literally came apart at the seams, stopping traffic in both directions on the TransCanada Highway for 27 hours.

Several months later the province finally released a report.

The incident revealed just how dependent the nation is on the highway for the transportation of goods and people.

We’ve put together a list of what we feel were the top 10 local news stories. It’s never an easy task.

1. Touted by the province for its design, the Nipigon River Bridge opened with much fanfare in 2015, but the joy was short-lived. In January, bolts on the bridge failed and the road deck lifted nearly a foot in the air, essentially splitting the country in half. In September a report was issued by Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca that blamed the design of the shoe plate and its flexibility, a lack of rotation in the bearing that was constructed and improperly tightened bolts. It’s estimated the repair costs will come in between $8 million and $12 million.
    
2. Spending four years in solitary confinement at the Thunder Bay District Jail brought Adam Capay into the national headlines. Accused of murdering a 35-year-old inmate while incarcerated at the Thunder Bay Correctional Institute, Capay’s trial has been repeatedly delayed. Once his plight went public, it drew criticism at Queen’s Park, leading to a temporary move into another cell – which correctional officers said was done only to accommodate jail repairs. The facility also experienced an escape in 2016 and has now been shortlisted by the province for replacement.
    
3. Lakehead Public Schools trustees shot down a plan to close a number of north side schools, after much public outcry. The original plan had included the re-purposing of Superior Collegiate as an elementary school, replacing three elementary schools. The board did vote to close Sir Winston Churchill, but the move will be delayed until 2018.
    
4. An inquest jury delivered 145 recommendations after months of testimony looking into the deaths of seven First Nations teenagers attending school in Thunder Bay between 2000 and 2001.
    
5. Labour woes threatened to hit the City of Thunder Bay in November, but at the 11^th hour a deal was reached and a strike that would have closed recreational facilities and interrupted garbage collection was avoided.
    
6. The emerald ash borer finally made its way to the city, following years of warnings the pest was migrating northward. In November council approved a $6.3-million plan to combat the invasive species over the next decade.
    
7. Federal officials told representatives of the city that it had no program available that could help pay for Thunder Bay’s controversial event centre plan, essentially shelving the project indefinitely.
    
8. Thunder Bay continued its deadly ways in 2016, with eight murders officially on the books, the city’s second-highest total since 1993.
    
9. WestJet flight 142 from Vancouver to Ottawa was diverted to Thunder Bay International Airport in August after a threat was made. The plane was thoroughly searched and passengers were on their way the next day.
    
10. Well-known Thunder Bay lawyer Alexander (Sandy) Zaitzeff is facing several charges of sexual assault, including invitation to touching under 16, and has had his licence to practice law suspended.